Things are quickly changing when it comes to internet data
plans. While we were used to a plethora of unlimited data plans for our
smartphones and even our home internet connections, service providers are now implementing
bandwidth caps to curb data usage.

When it comes to smartphones, many users feel that that
should be able to use that data anyway they please, however, service providers
clearly don't feel the same way. For this reason, data tethering -- which
allows you to share your smartphone internet data connection with other devices
-- is usually a separate charge from your data plan.

Those that get around this extra fee by jailbreaking and
using "unauthorized" apps had better start watching your back --
AT&T is beginning to crackdown on users. According
to TUAW, AT&T is sending out letters to customers that it believes are
using unauthorized tethering solutions. Here's a snippet from the full text
(which can be found here):

Tethering
can be an efficient way for our customers to enjoy the benefits of AT&T’s
mobile broadband network and use more than one device to stay in touch with
important people and information. To take advantage of this feature, we require
that in addition to a data plan, you also have a tethering plan.

Our
records show that you use this capability, but are not subscribed to our
tethering plan…

If
we don’t hear from you, we’ll plan to automatically enroll you into DataPro 4GB
after March 27, 2011. The new plan – whether you sign up on your own or we
automatically enroll you – will replace your current smartphone data plan,
including if you are on an unlimited data plan.

If
you discontinue tethering, no changes to your current plan will be required.

One of the most popular apps for jailbroken iPhones is MyWi.
MyWi allows a user to tether their iPhone without payingthe additional monthly
tethering fee to AT&T. The app allows tethering via USB, Bluetooth, or
Wi-Fi and is available for a
one-time fee of $19.99.

The letter doesn't say how AT&T was able to determine
that the customer was tethering, but it stands to reason that grandfathered
unlimited data plan customers that are using multiple gigabytes of data per
month are prime suspects.

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Sounds like a pretty easy way to get out of a contract. Last time I checked, any changes a carrier makes to your services allows you to opt out and cancel. When you do, come on over to any of Sprint's Android phones. The internet is fast and isn't capped. Silly AT&T, tricks are for kids.

If you are connecting through their network, they know what you are doing with your phone?

If you haven't heard of Carrier IQ... I know my Samsung Epic "HAD" it. Now it doesn't. Of course this is a Sprint/Samsung Phone, but I am willing to bet that phones on other carriers have it, or something similar installed by default, so unless you have a ROM with it removed, they know "exactly" how you are using your phone if they want to.

h t t p: / / forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=11763089

Posted by k0nane on XDA Developers for Samsung Epic

"What Is Carrier IQ? Why Should We Care?

Put simply - and bluntly - Carrier IQ is a software package buried deep within Android by Samsung at the behest of Sprint. It has been in active use since the time of the Moment, if not before. The company that develops it, also known as Carrier IQ, bills it as "Mobile Service Intelligence". In their own words,

[T]he combination of the MSIP and IQ Insight lets you move seamlessly from broad trend data across many users, through comparative groups down to diagnostic data from individual devices. Now, not only can you identify trends, you have the power to drill down to specific instances, giving you the insight your specialists need to make a difference.

On its own, that description can vary from harmless, to worrying, depending on how you look at it. It's not until one drills deep down into the system and ferrets out every piece of the software that one truly knows what it contains. As some of you might remember, ACS took the first steps toward disabling the Carrier IQ software with the release of SyndicateROM and Xtreme Kernel 1.0. That, however, didn't even scratch the surface.

Carrier IQ's native libraries are plainly visible - libiq_client.so and libiq_service.so in /system/lib. During every boot, this service is launched - you can see it in Settings > Applications > Running Services as "IQAgent Service". These native libraries are called by non-native (Android application) libraries located in ext.jar (the client) and framework.jar (the service). Removal of these (rather obviously-named) libraries alone, be it the .so files or the libraries in framework or ext, will, obviously, break boot. So I - k0nane - had to dig deeper. To make a long story short, reference to the IQ Service and IQ Client were littered across the deepest portions of the framework, and some of the most basic functions of the Android system as we know it.

Carrier IQ as a platform is designed to collect "metrics" at any scale. What I found it to hook into is far beyond the scope of anything a carrier needs - or should want - to be collecting. Carrier IQ sits in the middle of, and "checks" the data of, SMS and MMS messages. It listens for and receives every battery change notifications. It hooks into every web page you view, and every XML file your device reads. It receives every press of the touch screen. It 'sees' what you type on the physical keyboard. It reads every number you press in the dialer. It can track which applications you use, what 'type' they are, how often, and for how long. It hooks into data sent and received.

I, and the rest of ACS, ask Samsung and Sprint - why do you want this information? Why do you need it? Why is the capability in place?

The only saving grace - if there is one - to this nasty, ten-legged mutant spider is that its logs are off by default..."

Exactly, smartphones that have full support for flash 10 can access just about any site that a pc can (unless it is disallowed... like Hulu), so who's to say which device was the termination point?

What are they going to do? Intercept your data packets and read the browser request headers to determine the user agent. If that's the case, I think they may be overstepping their bounds of being a wireless transmission provider. I would rather my wireless carrier THAT I PAY not root through my (self) important work and also have knowledge of the weird porn that I watch.

Misinformed or rich Apple users? I've never even heard of this app or known anyone who tethers to do so using this app. Just because an Anand article states that's it is popular doesn't mean it is popular.

If I was a customer who received this letter I would call them and inform them that I do not authorize them to change my plan and, if they do, I shall be canceling my plan immediately. Prove that I'm illegally tethering.

quote: 19.99 is a rip off for a tethering app, it just shows how misinformed (or rich) apple users are.

What are they misinformed about? What is the alternative? Paying $20/month vs a $20 one time fee? I think the $20 fee is the cheaper way to go...a "rich" person would be the one paying the extra $20/month.

quote: They'd have to prove it. Who's to say that you're not just watching tons of movies on your phone?

It can be easily proven by the MAC addresses that are utilizing the connection over the phone's assigned IP address.My thought is that AT&T is logging this type of data, then later, runs a report of assigned IP addresses and see which MAC address(es) are assigned to equipment they service and which addresses are foreign. If they find any that weren't "Authorized" by AT&T they would then check to see if that IP address's account-holder is paying for tethering. If not, send that person one of these passive-agressive letters.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say this isn't how they do it. MAC is only passed to layer 2 boundaries, the minute it hits a layer 3 device, the MAC is changed to that device. I am not familiar with the inner workings of the tether apps, but they likely work like a wireless router and therefore would obfuscate the MAC. On top of all that, MACs can be faked very easily, so that is far from fool proof.

I would think they just check for these tethering programs running on their network.

The other obvious way to see what's attached would be to look at browser IDs, if their packet sniffing indicates you're surfing the web using a desktop browser that's a pretty good indication you're tethered.

MAC is part of the Ethernet frame, not a TCP/IP packet. Even so, all ISPs run proxy servers, so privacy isn't the biggest barrier. They can tell any number of ways. I think the best solution is to ensure that it's running over the same data as your smartphone apps and then connect to an encrypted VPN at home and tunnel through with your tethered device. That will count toward BOTH data caps though.

FWIW, I have the grandfathered unlimited plan and there is still a 5GB unspoken cap. Cross it too many times and expect a nasty letter threatening to end your service.

I think they only leg they have to stand on is getting to the point of calling Jailbreaking or Rooting a violation of contract (which I think the courts have already ruled on). Otherwise, you are just using software on the phone. So don't call the software tethering, call it data syncing.

That may be for an Iphone, but for Android I'm not sure rooting your phone violates any agreement. I have also used an open source tethering solution called Barnacle Wifi tether (5 stars btw, it supports a lot of even older Androids) and it can be downloaded directly from the Android Market, I don't think it needs root access.

How would a contract apply to a Nexus One owner on their network or any unlocked phone that has a form of tethering?

I am now running Gingerbread and WiFi hotspot has been built in since Froyo. I am literally only paying for their voice and data service, they do not own any part of my phone nor the OS and software that runs on it.

If they so much as raise a whisper about me violating any terms of service, they will have immediately lost a customer.

Does AT&T really want to come up with more reasons for people not to want to join their network? Since they lost exclusivity with the iphone there really isn't ANY compelling reason for people to use them. It seems their new policies along with capping DSL are designed to chase away all of their customers. If you want a cap on smartphone data just put it in the contract and don't tell people how to use their phones.

Verizon is currently offering the HTC thunderbolt 4g LTE smartphone with an unlimited plan. So who in their right mind would sign up for AT&T anyways.

Every consumer contract usually starts or ends with a clause about how the company can add to, remove from, or amend anything at any time. Just like after 9/11, my insurance company amendded my policy to not cover Acts of War, whether invasion or civil unrest, to include, but not limited to, direct or indirect damage by missile attack. Maybe cell contracts are different, but I highly doubt that.

Every cell phone contract I've ever had states that they have a right to change service agreements but they must give you 30 days notice and the right to cancel your contract if you do not agree with the new terms. By not opting out you are essentially accepting the new contract agreement.

I was able to get out of a T-mobile contract because they raised the rates of SMS messages by 5 cents even though I had an unlimited text plan.